Twice Lucky

by Mardi Alexander

  They both smiled.

  “Work isn’t too bad—busy as always, but I can’t complain. Every day is different. Some days aren’t so good, but then, some days you get to be a part of something special and that keeps you going through the tough days.”

  “Has this been a tough week?”

  Sarah sipped her wine and thought through the week and smiled. “No, it hasn’t been too bad. The usual. Kids with burns, drunks, broken bones—oh, and I met a firefighter called Mouse.”

  Jean sipped her wine. “Okay, you’ve got my attention. Please explain.”

  Sarah told her the story of the MVA. She even told her about Mac doing the fire inspections on the Monday.

  “She must be cute, this Mouse.”

  Sarah’s glass stopped midway to her mouth. “Why do you say that?”

  Jean laughed gently and patted Sarah’s thigh. “Well, apart from the fact that you’re smiling like a cat that found the fridge door open, you sound like you’re even looking forward to doing the fire inspections! I mean, come on, Sare, fire inspections are definitely not that interesting, so she must be cute.”

  Sarah laughed and swatted Jean’s hand playfully. Sarah’s face felt warm and she couldn’t blame the flush all on the wine. “Mm, let’s just say that the inspections might not be too much of a hardship to bear this year.”

  They sat in companionable silence for a while. Jean leaned over and topped up both their glasses. As she handed Sarah’s over she tilted her head to the side and looked at Sarah.

  Sarah couldn’t help but notice Jean’s intense scrutiny. “What? Have I got food on my face?”

  “No, I was just trying to think how long it had been.”

  Sarah looked at her puzzled, not quite sure where Jean was going with her question. “Since…?”

  “Since you went out on a date.”

  Sarah choked on the wine.

  “Seriously, Sare. How long has it been?”

  Sarah looked away. God, how long had it been? Thinking back through the few times she even went out, let alone on a date, the last couple of…years? Shit. “Two years? Three years? It’s been a while.”

  “Well, what about this Mouse?”

  “Oh, now hang on, I don’t think—”

  “Well, maybe you should think about it. I don’t remember the last time you lit up like that over anyone, let alone someone you just met. What’s the harm in finding out?”

  Sarah opened and shut her mouth a couple of times. Lit up? Jean was right. She had only met Mac briefly twice and she couldn’t get those blue eyes out of her head. Hell, she was even looking forward to Monday. It wouldn’t hurt to find out a bit more…would it?

  “Seriously, Sare, there’s more to life than just work. I want to see you happy.”

  “I am happy.”

  “I’d say more like staying busy and trying to be content, wouldn’t you?”

  “Content is good.”

  Jean shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Not good enough. Not when you can do better.”

  Sarah swirled the wine in her glass thoughtfully. Colleen had had a go at her the other evening about hardly ever seeing her and that she was always working nights. Maybe she was turning into a nocturnal old maid.

  “All I’m suggesting is that you keep your options open, honey. Don’t close yourself off and hide in your work. Hey, maybe on Monday you can talk this Mouse into having a cup of coffee—after the inspections, you know?”

  Sarah shrugged.

  Jean bumped her on the shoulder playfully. “It would just be coffee, no commitments, no sex—that should all come after she takes you out for dinner.”

  Sarah did snort her wine at that and just shook her head and laughed. “Okay, okay, just coffee, no sex. I get it!”

  They both laughed.

  Sarah reached for and held Jean’s hand. “What about you? What about your happiness Jean?”

  Jean smiled sadly. “My happiness will be knowing that Thomas and I can just settle down in one place and live normally. Not looking over my shoulder all the time, or jumping at shadows. You know, this is the longest we’ve stayed in any one place for the past two years. It feels nice. This makes me happy.” Jean’s eyes filled with tears as she looked up. “But I’m always waiting, watching, knowing he can turn up anytime, and that we might have to move again. Just this week, I’ve had a few phone calls. I don’t know how he got my number, but I know it’s him.”

  “What does he say?”

  “It’s never very much. Sometimes it’s just heavy breathing. Yesterday he just said I haven’t forgotten about you.” Jean shook her head. “It breaks my heart. Every time we settle, Thomas makes some new friends, and then Richard finds us, and we have to move.” Tears flowed freely down Jean’s face. Her throat closed up and she hoarsely whispered, “It’s just so hard. So damn hard. I keep wondering how long I can keep doing this.”

  Sarah leaned over and pulled Jean into her arms. “Have you heard from your solicitors or the police lately?”

  Jean shook her head. “No. He’s been in counselling, and it’s been so good for a while. But last week, I had a call from the police to say he didn’t check in with his probation officer and he’d missed his last couple of treatment appointments. They don’t know where he is.” Jean fingered the stem of her wine glass. “I feel like I’m in limbo land, and I don’t quite know what to do next.”

  Sarah hugged her tight. “We’ll figure something out.”

  Chapter Seven

  Mac had finished all the preparation work for next week’s inspections and classes, leaving the rest of the day to be hers. She took herself off to the pet store in the mall to look for some treats for the dogs on run six. Wandering up and down the aisles, she picked out some nice collars and leads, a box of toy mice for the kittens, and a couple of toys for the puppy, Nell. On the way back to her truck, she spied a reasonably priced pocket-sized digital camera in another store, a sprinkle of spontaneity sparking inside of her as she decided that she could afford to treat herself to it. Smiling smugly, she justified that her impulsive purchase could also be used to take some photos of the upcoming inspections and education classes, which she could add to the reports she would submit at the end of the month.

  As the day was hers, she thought she would spend the rest of it at the refuge rather than just an hour or two in the morning. As she drove, she got to thinking about Maree and Terri’s upcoming five-year anniversary of opening up the refuge. She wanted to do something special for them. She looked at the camera, still in its box, as an idea began to dawn. She would take the camera in with her for the next week or two and get some shots of the refuge, which would help with the inspiration for the plan that was taking shape in Mac’s mind. Mac was smiling and humming to herself as she pulled into the car park, thinking that her first practice shots could be her new buddies in run six.

  Maree and Terri both spied her as she walked in with her box of goodies. Terri turned to her partner. “Well, well, what have we here? You know, I was only thinking this morning, when Mac didn’t turn up, that a couple of mornings in a row helping us and playing at being normal, might have been too much.”

  Maree was chuckling. “Actually, my love, I think it’s worse than that. It looks like she’s trying to move in.”

  Everybody was laughing. Mac raised an eyebrow at them both. “Ha-ha, you two clowns. I thought I might spend a whole day here helping out, if you’re interested, as opposed to just cleaning up after you two.”

  Terri looked at Maree with a huge grin on her face before turning to look back at Mac. “Serious? A whole day of free labour?”

  “Yep, a whole day…and I like to think of myself as cheap and easy, not free.”

  Terri whooped with delight. “You’re an idiot, y’know that?”

  Maree laughed. “Yes, but she’s our idiot, and for a whole day! Don’t suppose you brought your tools with you?”

  Mac smiled. “You bet. How about I go over to run six first. I brought the guys some tre
ats, and you two make out a list of the things you want done and we’ll go from there.”

  The girls gave Mac a huge group hug.

  “Well, if you’re going to help out today, then lunch and dinner are on us,” Maree said.

  “Hey, if you’re cooking, then I’m eating. What say I meet up with you in the office in say”—Mac looked at her watch—“about forty-five minutes?”

  “Too easy.”

  “Okay, see you in a bit.” Mac turned and headed to the run, while Maree and Terri had their heads together working on the list for Mac.

  Mac had brought the old lady cattle dog a stretcher bed with a woollen liner on it, to get her stiff old bones off the cold cement, and a lovely fire-engine red collar and lead. For the young hunting dog she brought a couple of rawhide chews and rope tug toys. His collar and lead were an embossed leather set in dark earthy tones. The terrier got a stuffed rabbit toy for him to cuddle up to and some calming herbal drops that she planned to put in his water bowl if it was all right with the girls. His collar and lead set was of a rich emerald green.

  Last was little Nell. Mac sat on the ground of her pen and held her hand out, with some small liver treats in her palm. Nell timidly came over and took the treats from her hand. “Hello, Nell. How are you this morning, little one?” Nell crawled into her lap. “I brought you some things I thought you might like.” She reached into the box and brought out a lavender-coloured collar and lead and let Nell sniff them. “All the big girls wear collars, you know. And later on, we can put a name tag on for you.” She slowly and gently put the collar around Nell’s neck and did it up. The puppy just looked at her with big trusting eyes. “You are such a good girl. We might try the lead out a bit later on, hey? What else is in here?” She reached into the box and pulled out a ball, a squeaky turtle toy, and a big soft teddy.

  She put the teddy between her and the puppy so both of their scents would be on the toy. “This big guy can go in your bed for you to cuddle up to so you don’t get lonely at night.” She was scratching behind the puppy’s ears as it watched her. She grabbed the squeaking turtle. “You can chew on this funny guy.” She squeaked the turtle not far from Nell’s face. But something wasn’t right. The puppy didn’t look at the turtle. She squeaked the turtle again. Nell didn’t even blink. Mac put the turtle down and put one hand behind the puppy’s head, out of its line of sight, and clicked her fingers, first behind the puppy’s right ear, and then the puppy’s left ear. There was no reaction. Mac repeated it again with her fingers and then again with the turtle. The pup just kept looking up at her. Nell made no reaction at all to the noises. Mac drew the puppy in to her chest and hugged her. She would have to tell Maree and Terri. Nell would need a vet to check her out to be sure, but it looked to Mac like Nell was deaf.

  Tears welled in Mac’s eyes. She knew this would make it even more difficult for Nell to find a good forever home. Not many people wanted a deaf dog. She gave Nell a last hug, left her some treats, and headed off to find the girls.

  Over a coffee they talked about Nell. The girls had drawn up a great list of jobs for Mac, more than enough to do in one day. Inside, she changed washers on taps, put new hoses in the washrooms, installed brackets on the wall for a dryer, and fixed some cupboards and drawers that had seen better days. Outside, she hung up new signs and installed some hand railings that the girls had bought last month. Mac was starting to measure up where the girls wanted a cement path laid between sheds when Terri came over and grabbed her for lunch.

  “Hey, girl Friday, you ready for something to eat?”

  Mac stood up and dusted off her hands on her pants. “You bet.”

  As they walked back together, Terri put her arm through Mac’s. “I can’t believe how much you’ve done already. It looks great. Thanks heaps, chick.”

  “You’re most welcome. I’m really enjoying it, and if it helps, well, that’s a bonus.”

  “It really does, it helps a lot. But more than that, it’s super to just have you here.”

  “Well, it’s super to be here. And if you promise to feed me, then I just might keep coming back.”

  Terri punched her arm. “You crazy fool.”

  Grinning, Mac punched her back. “Yep.”

  Having washed up outside, they walked into the tea room behind the office. Maree waved them in. “Sit, sit…how’s it all going?”

  “Pretty good, I think,” Mac said. “I’ve finished most of the little jobs, and I’m just about to start measuring up to mark out where I need to set the formwork up for your path. Were you able to get the concrete to come out tomorrow?”

  Terri nodded. “Yeah, the concrete guy said they could be here about half past nine.”

  “Okay, that’ll work out well. We can set the formwork up today and be ready for the pour tomorrow.”

  Maree put a steaming dish of vegetable soup in the middle of the table, followed by fresh warm bread rolls. “Help yourselves.”

  Mac’s mouth was watering so much at the delicious smells that she thought it might just be possible to drown with the anticipation of it all. They each dished themselves out a portion and tucked in. Mac closed her eyes in sheer pleasure at the first mouthful. “Maree, you are a magician. This is amazing.”

  Terri raised a piece of bread in salute. “What she said. This is beautiful, babe, thank you.”

  “You’re both welcome.”

  The rest of the meal was consumed in silence until all was gone. Terri was pouring fresh juices all round. “So, apart from blessing us with your presence, how’s your week been, Mac? Do you have to do much preparation stuff for the classes and inspection thingies?”

  Mac told them briefly about the call-outs at the beginning of the week, including Bella and the baby, and the preparations she’d been working on for next week. “Most of the paperwork was done by Eddie, the guy that usually does this stuff. I’ve just tweaked it a bit here and there and thrown in some extra fun stuff that I hope will be okay for the different groups. My first inspection is on Monday, and it’s at the hospital. That’ll take me a couple of days, as it’s a pretty big area to cover, with a few education classes around town thrown in.”

  “What’s so good about the hospital inspections?” Maree asked.

  Mac looked at Maree and wondered if she’d finally steamed her brains when making lunch.

  “Don’t give me that look. When you mentioned doing the hospital inspections on Monday, you were smiling. Is there a story there that we should know about?”

  Damn Maree, she never missed anything.

  Terri bounced in the seat excitedly. “Oooh, there is. Come on, spill it. What can possibly make you smile about a fire inspection?”

  “Well Bella—you know, the pregnant lady in the MVA I was telling you about?”

  Maree and Terri nodded.

  “Well, when I dropped her off to the hospital, the doctor on duty, was…”

  “Was she hot?” Terri couldn’t help herself.

  Mac felt her face go red as a beetroot.

  Terri was rubbing her hands with glee. “She was!”

  Maree slapped her on the arm. “And does this doctor have a name?”

  “Sarah. Sarah Macarthur. I remember standing there that night—she asked me a question, and I couldn’t speak. All I saw where her dark chocolate eyes. She must have thought me a right daft twit. And then I literally ran into her a couple of days later. We both walked around a corner at the same time and smacked into each other. I didn’t see her. I was looking at a map of the hospital buildings, trying to work out where the maintenance stuff was. Anyway, she ended up personally taking me around and pointing out where the buildings were out the back of the hospital. She’s part of the staff that I need to work with for the inspections next week.”

  “Who’d have thought inspections could be so interesting, huh? Is she…y’know?”

  Mac shrugged. “You know me. I wouldn’t have a clue unless she wrote it on the back of a beer coaster.”

  They all lau
ghed at that and both Terri and Maree agreed. “That’s true, girlfriend. When they gave out gaydar you must’ve been out of the country.”

  Terri waggled her eyebrows. “Maybe one of us could go ahead and act as a spy for you.”

  Mac was smiling but shaking her head as she picked up her dishes and walked them over to the sink. “Maybe…maybe.”

  Maree got up too. “Leave that, I’ll fix this up. You two go back out and play.”

  Mac kissed Maree on the cheek. “Thanks for the great lunch.”

  “It’s the least I could do for my workers.”

  *

  Terri explained how they wanted the path to join the buildings together and eventually connect another building, not yet constructed. So with that in mind, Mac made some adjustments to her measurements, and using a tin of spray paint, marked out the path. Terri stayed and watched the process of marking before waving off to exercise some of the dogs and put others through some basic training while Mac prepared the stakes and borders for the formwork.

  Mac set to work digging out the grass and levelling out the dirt. She was just putting the first of the formwork pegs in when Maree came over to see how she was doing. Digging out the pathway had been hot work and Mac had stripped down to a singlet.

  “Thought you might like some water after all the labour you’ve been doing.” Maree handed over a bottle.

  “Thanks, Maree, that’s gold.” She took the chilled water gratefully.

  “The vet just rang to say he’s about ten minutes away. I thought you and Terri might want to see what they have to say about the terrier and the puppy. He’s going to look over a couple of the cats and another dog that came in earlier in the week, but I’ll get him to start with those two first. I’ll just get Terri and we’ll meet you in six.”

  “Thanks. I’d like to see what he says about the two of them.”

  “Okay, meet up in a bit.”

  Mac nodded and tidied up some of the stuff she was working with. She was just washing up before heading over when the vet pulled in. As she was there, she greeted him and took him over to run six, where the girls were already waiting.